Incubator.



PATENTED Nov. 26, 1907.

S. P. BIHN.

INCUBATOR.

APPLICATION FILED I'EB.7.1907.

4 SHEETS-SHEET l.

ani/themes No. 871,908. PATENTED NOV. 26. 1907.

S. -F. BIHN.

INOUBATOR. APPLICATION FILED r1217, 1907.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

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SYLVAN FRANK BIHN, OF PETALUMA, CALIFORNIA.

INCUB ATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 26, 1907.

Application filed February 7.1907. Serial No. 356.186,

To all whom it may concern Be it known that l, SYLYAN FRANK BIHN, aCiliZCll of the United States, residing at Petalunia, in the county ofSonoma and State of California, have invented certain new and usefullinprovements in lncnbat ors: and I do declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it apperiains to make and use thesame.

This invention relates to imprtwements in incubators.

The object of the invention is to provide a continuous incubator havinga plurality of compartments heated from the same source whereby thedaily care, adjusting and clean- .ing'o'f many lamps or heaters isdispensed with and the time and. labor required for rttnnii'igt'lie'incubatoi' reduced to a minimum. 1

Another object is to provide means for regulating the temperature in thevarious eon'ipartmen1s,-intlependeirlv of each other to provide for thedifferences in temperature of the several compartmens caused b v thevariations in the heat produced by the embryo in its various si ages ofdevelopment.

Another object. is to provide improved means for turning the eggs inbulk without injuring them and wizhont removing them from the incubator.

Still another object is to provide means for properly cooling the eggsduring the process of incubation without removing them from theincubator and thereby avoiding uneven cooling of the eggs, whereby someare chilled, while others are not cooled stillicicntly when lit areremoved from the ineubator to cool them.

Figure l of the accompanying drawings represents a perspective view ofthis iniproved continuous incubator with the lid of one compartmentpartly raised and with the side door open to show the interior thereof:Fig. 2 represents a perspective view of the portable tray holder for theincubator; Fig. 3 represents a perspective view of a corrugated tray forholding the eggs during the process of incubation; Fig. 4 represents aside View of the incubator showing the heater at one end and the heatregulat ing device on the top thereof; Fig. 5 represents a sideelevation partly in perspective of the hot water device, the expansioncup and the heater detached and in position ready to h connected withthe incubator; Fig. 6 represent a. top plan view of the incubatorshowing the heater at one end and the expansion cup at. the other andwith the top removed; Figs. 7 and N represent. side elevations of aninsulator for the hot water device at the up- 'per part. of theincubator being shown open in Fig. 7 and closed in Fig. s: l ig'. Hrepresents a perspective view of one of the instilator or envelopertnemhers detached: l ig. It) represents a perspective view of one of theincubator compartments showing the operative relations of the differentheating and regulating devices.

lit the embodiment of the invention herein illustrated, a continuousincubator l is shown composed of a pluralit of individual compartmentsas 2. preferably disposed in longitudinal alinement to provide for thearrangement therein of a hot water h ating de'- vice in the simplestmanner; they may how ever be arranged iii any other suitable or tlesired position. i

i\ll of the compartments 2 are supplied \\l1lt heat from a single plantor heater here inafier described. 'lhe compartments 2 being all alikeone only will he described. llach of these compartments 2 constitutes anincubator chamber and is provided with a hinged top It which tightlytits on said chamber when closed to prevent the escape of heat therefromand adapted to be opened to admit fresh air to the eggs to cool themduring the period of incubation without necessitating their removal fromthe chamber wherebv some are liable to be chilled and others not coolednllicientlv owing tt. the fact that the eggs have heat of their own andlying close together will heat by contat't and when removed from theincubating chamber into a low outside temperature, the eggs on theoutside of the tra will -eliill while those in the center will not bestillieienilv cool, causing the hatches to vary some days. 7

With this improved incubator, when it is desired to cool the eggs, thelid 2% is propped open at the desired height. causing a slow evencooling of the eggs and producing even hatches and a high percentage ofhealthy strong ehielts. Each lid 2; has a ventilating aperture l thereinclosed by a slide 5 which may be opened an v desired w-idt h to properlyventilate the chamher giving a direct means for the carbonic-acid toescape without creating a draft. Carbonic-acid gas which i is thrown offby the eggs during the process vided with a egg trays.

of incubation is present in larger quantities atthe top of the eggchamber as when heated carbonic-acid gas is lighter than air, while whencold it is heavier. v

Each chamber or compartment 2 is reortable tray holder 6 w ich consistsof a fiame corresponding in shape to the shape of the chamber anditrests and slides on the bottom of the com artnien't. It' is preferablylar e enough "to old four This he der 6 is preferably provlded withflanges 8 for the trays to rest and slide upon and it obviates thenecessity of using a table to set the trays on as with this tray holder,it is only necessary for the operator to draw the holder 6 containingthe filled trays hereinafter described artly from the chamber 2 with itsouter enr resting on the knees of. the operator and the eggs may thenbeturned in bulk as hereinafter described. This tray'holder is preferablyprovided with two hand-holds as 9 for withdrawing it. The egg trays 10are preferably made as shown in Fig. 3 with parallel corrugated roovesas 11 so'arranged that the e gs lai in the corrugated grooves willslight y overlap 'each other and the eggs are so placed in each groovethat those in one groove will be a little past those in the other grooveand project up out of thegroove suflicientlfy hlgh so that'the largestcircumference 0 one egg in th1s groove will fit in the cavity betweenthe two eggs in the ad acent grooves, thus if the eggs in the groove arelaid lengthwise with the large ends one way and the small ends theother, the o erator by placing his arm across the tray irectlyagainstthe small ends of the eggsto hold them firmly together, may thenraise the other end of the tray up rather quickly, which will cause theupper layer of eggs to commence to turn, then by giving away gently atthe lower or smaller end of the eggs they will all turn over smoothlyand at the end of the'incubation period ive as a result a lesspercentageof loss {ha n if they had been turned by hand in the old Way.The incubator chambers 2 are each prov'ided'with a front or side door 12which opens to permit the trayholder to be moved in and out.

All of the compartments 2 are heated by a single heater lf) whichpreferably consists of'an outside circular shell or jacket 20 which hasa circular top or cap 21 fitting tightly inside thereof, so that theheater may be closed when needed. This heater has a radiating ilue BUprojecting through the top thereof. In the outside jacket. 20 near itstop and on a level with the hot Water space and directly back ofradiating flue 30 is a one inch hole 32 for a solder nlpple 33 which isconnected to inside shell of the heater and passes through the hole withthe in out-side acket 20 and has on its outer end screw threads for aunion to be screwed on so that the hot water pipe 48 may be screwed intothe other end or the union, thus connecting the hot water space with thesupply pipe 50. Near the bottom of the heater in outside shell or jacket20 on each side is'a one inch hole, for nipples which have screw threadson the outer ends just outside of jacket 20 to receive unions screwedthereon, and the short pieces of pipe fronr elbows 42 and 43 may bescrewed into the other end of the two unions on each side of the heater.These two short pieces of pipe extend far enough out from each side ofheater and are connect the lower end of the hot water reservoir in theheater with the return pipes 46 and 477 The outside jacket 20 extendsbelow elbows .42 and 43 sufiiciently to leave a one inch space for heat.Thus if the'heater be connected to hot water pipes '46, 47, and 48 asshown in Fig. 5, the receiving cup 49 at upper end of perpendicular pipe50 be filled with water the water willdeseend and make turns at elbow51, pass lnto end pipes 52; hereit is divided into pipes 46,

47, and 48 passing through pipes 46 and 47 at elbows 53 and 54 andentering the heater through the short pipe beyond elbows 42 and 43 andalso through flow pipe 48 into the reservoir in the heater at its top,thus filling up the hot water space inside the heater. A lamp (notshown) is disposed in the radiating fine 30 and the heat therefrom willrise straight up through the radiating 30 and escape therefrom, if thedamper 34 on top of the radiating flue 30 be open (see Fig. 4). If thedamper be closed, the heat side of the radiating flue 30 and fill up thehot air space around the radiating fine 30, thus heating all hot airsurface on the inside thereof.

In Fig. 4 is represented a side view of a continuous incubator showingthe regulating device for regulatiiig the heat from the gasolene-hcater.It shows the damper 34 placed directly over the opening in the upper endof radiating llue 30. This damper is connected to the curved end of alever 65. This lever- 65 has at its other end an adjustable slidingweight or knob (56 and the lever works on a pin 67 in the bracket 6%,which is fastened to the top of the incubator in the firstin theii'mubator raises it from the top ofthe radiating llue h 0. Near thefulcrum on. the side next to the heater the lever 65 has a small hole 69with screw threads cut in it fumes will pass out the holes in theconnectedwith the pipes 44 and 45 which half o to receive the set screw70 which is screwed through the lever and rests in a little cup 71 onthe upper end of a )erpendicular rod 72 which extends down t rough ahole in the top of the incubator, and has an expander 73 on its lowerend. The expander 73 is preferably composed of three or more waverdisksarranged one above the other in close proximity and is preferably madeof spring copper. This expander 73 is fastened to the bottom of abracket 74 which has side braces extending up on each 'side of theexpander which are fastened to the under side of the top of theincubator casing. lf the waverdisks in the expander 73 be filled withsome volatile liquid or gases which when heated will expand, and PUSllup on rod 72 causing its cup 71 to bear against the lower end of the setscrew in lever 65, this lever 65 will lift the damper 3% fromthe'opening in the top of radiating flue 30 and allow the heat that isnot needed to escape. The expander 73 in its bracket is preferablyarranged just above the eggs in. the corrugated tray inside theincubator so that the added heat from the eggs when they are in thecourse of incubation will also have its effect on the expander 73 toopen the damper.

An insulating device for arch of the hot water pipes 46, 47 and 48 isshown in Fig. 8 and consists of two flat pieces or dates 75 and ofnon-conducting materiaf of snlfi-- cicnt width to span the "ripe towhich it is ap plied and each provided with flanges 76 and 77 and SJ and82, along each side for about one-half the length thereof. Each platewith its flanges is made exactly like the other, the plate 75 lesignedto be placed on the under side of a hot water pipe with its flangesturned upward and the plate 80 to be placed on top at a hot waterpipewith its flanges on thereverse end and turned down,

-so that when they are closed together the part of the hot water pipebetween them will be completely enveloped. The plates 75 and 80 arehinged to the end walls of the compartment n which they are placed at 78and 83 respectively. There is a pair of these envelopers provided foreach of the hot water pipes in each compartment of the continuousincubator. The three envelopers as 75 are connected together at each endby cross iieces, as SH), thus forming the lower fthe insulator into aframe of sufficient length to reach from pne end of a compartment alongpipes 46, a7 and 48 to the other end with all flanges turned up at rightend; three envelopers as 80 are formed in a frame to be. placed on topof hot water pipes 46, 47 and 48 with. all their flanges turned down atright hand end of conlpa'rtment. The top enveloper frame is hinged tothe left hand end of the wall of the compartment, or end of incubalor,and the right hand end of envel- Rod 102 with its pin at each end fitsin a hole in the brackets that are -fastened at the 11ndthe center ofthe tray-holder as shown in Fig. 1 as it will be placed across the widthof the tray holder in each compartment of the continuous incubator. Theex )ander lever 103 is hinged to the right hanrf end wall of thecompartment of the incubator between bars Hit) and passes a little pclowrod 102 a short distance and is connected by a perpendicular rod 104 atits left hand end to a cross piece just to the left of the flanges ontop of enveloper St) and has a set screw on the up- )e'r end of rod 104for raising or lowering the left hand end of the expander lever 103 sothat the operator may regulate the heat from the hot water pipes 46, 47and 48.

The expander lever 10.; has fastened near its hinged end an expander105. This-expander 105 is composed of three or more wafer disks oneabove the other disposed in close proximity and preferably made ofspring copper and thus can bo filled with some volatile liquid or gaseswhich when heated will expand and push upward. Directly above thisexpander is a rod'ltlfi which is fastened at its upper end to undersideof the cross piece of enveloper frame 75 and extends down directly overthe expander 105 with a flat base at its lower end spaced at shortdistance from the top of the expander 105. Thus if t he expander 105 befilled wit h some volatile liquid or gases which will expand or contractaccording to the heat of the incubator, and this heat is of the requiredamount it will cause expander ,1 ()5 to expand against the base on thelower end of the base rod 106 and thus push up against the under side ofthe cross piece that is across the right hand underside of enveloperframe 75. And the flanges on the left end of envelopor frame 75 beingpushed up on each side of hot water pipes 46, 47 and LS and up againstthe underside of the flat piece of left end of enveloper frame 80, thusmvcloping this part of hot water pipes elfi, i7 and -18. hen expander105 has expanded and pushed up against the underside of the flat pieceon the right hand end of enveloper frame 75, thus causing the left handend of enveloper frame 7:") to pull up the left hand end ofbars 100 andthe right hand end of bars I00 to pull down the right hand end ofenveloper frame 80 lo the flat part of the left hand end of enveloper 75thereby finishing the closing process and en- 1 veloping of the hotwater pipes lo, 47 and die inside walls of the incubator, and. above oneand one-half feet apart to a rod 102.

&

Therefore the radiating heat of the hot water pipes 46, 47 and 48 isretained Within the en velopers as 75 and 80 in this compartment of thecontinuous incubator until the temperature in this compartment hassufliciently lowered, causing the expander to contract, and loweringdown from the base on the lower end of base'rod 106 relieving the pressure from the same, thereby causin enveloper frame 75 which is slightlyheavier than the enveloper frame 80 to drop down and away from the hotwater pipes. Thus when enveloper frame 75' drops down it pushes down onthe left hand end of bars 100 caus ing right hand end of these bars 100to push up the right hand end of enveloper frame 80 thereby uncoveringthe hot water pipes and letting out into this compartment alltheretained radiating heat that was held in the revious closing process.Thus the heat om the hot water pipes running through the differentcompartments of the continuous incubator can be regulated for eachcompartment by the set screw on the upper end of perpendicular rod 104by the operator reaching down through the slide opening in the lid. Thusit each compartment of the continuous incubator be provided with thisautomatic insulator, and the temperature being different in eachcompartment owing to the different stages of eggs in incubation, thesedifferent temperatures in the different compartments of this continuousincubator may all be equally adjusted by the set screw under the slideopening in: the lid or cover tor each compartment of this continuousincubator when said lid or cover is closed down.

1 claim as my invcntion:

1. In an incubator, the coml'iination of a plurality of compartments,water supply and return pipes passing through said comparterases mentsand a water heater disposed adjacent to said incubator and having thereservoir thereof connected with said pipes and each compartment thepipes passing therethrough for re lating the temperature thereinindependent y of the other compartments.

2-. In an incubator, the'oombination of a plurality of compartments,water supply and return pipes passing through said compartments, meansfor heating the water passing through said pipes and means disposed ineach compartment for enveloping the pipes having means tor envelopmgpassing therethrough and regulating the heat j therein independently ofthe other compartments. i

3. In an incubator, the combination of a plurality of compartments,water supply and return pipes passing through said compart monts, meansfor heating the water passing through said pipes, means for envelopingthe pipes in each compartment, and means operated by the temperature in'said compartment for opening and closing said pipe-enveloping means forshutting off and admitting the heat radiated from said pipes to saidcompartment, whereby the heat in one compartment maybe regulatedindependently of the others. I

4. In an incubator, the combination of a plurality of compartments,heating means therefor, means for regulating the temperature in eachcompartment independently of the others and means for regulating thetemperature in all of the compartments.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand'in presence of twosubscribing wit nesses.

. SYLVAN FRANK SHIN. lVitnesses (hm. Yoi no,

FRED. A. CREED.

